New Yorkers Rally Around Devastated Restaurants After Sandy

Though power is back on in Lower Manhattan and the subways are
mostly running smoothly, many New Yorkers are still recovering
from the disastrous impact of Hurricane Sandy. Devastated
restaurants in "Zone A," the red zones where residents were
evacuated and streets flooded, are still reeling from the effects
of the storm.

And even though the power for most came back on within five days,
for many restaurant owners in Manhattan's South Street Seaport or
Brooklyn's Red Hook neighborhood that was the least of their
worries. A thick, green mold is now growing on wood and in
the concrete of many coast-adjacent restaurants, and owners
are contending with lost revenue, an inability to pay their
staff, and destroyed inventory in the wake of the biggest storm
in recent East Coast history.

The
commercial kitchen of Parker Red. The floor in this picture was
originally red.Ted &
Honey

Now restaurants are struggling to procure the funds to repair the
damage. Most restaurants are suffering through the bureaucratic
mess of applying for government compensation and emergency loans,
but a few intrepid businesses are taking the fundraising to the
internet.

Sites like GoFundMe, Smallknot, and Fundly are hosting websites where patrons can donate
money to Zone A restaurant relief.

"The Smallknot.com campaign was a great resource for us to raise
funds and awareness that we were affected," Michelle Mannix,
co-owner of Ted & Honey, wrote to Business Insider in an email. "We were
able to reach our Smallknot fundraising goal within 4 days, but I
would have liked their fundraising ceiling to be a bit higher as
the amount we raised covers only about 25% of what we need that
will not be covered by insurance."

New Yorkers found other ways to save local restaurants. Liftsall.org paired
functioning restaurants with damaged ones to help provide any
available assistance (such as throwing fundraising dinners or
lending supplies), and Eat Down, Tip Up, urged diners to leave
generous tips at downtown establishments.

Some restaurants in hard-hit areas were more fortunate than
others. Felice 15 Gold, a new restaurant on Gold street in lower
Manhattan, was able to keep its kitchen open with just one
emergency light while serving family-style pasta and sandwiches
to guests stranded in Gild Hall, a nearby hotel. They also kept
the bar open by candlelight to serve the neighborhood in its time
of need.

But with entire neighborhoods destroyed, homes totaled, and
people killed in New Jersey and Staten Island, critics aren't
happy that New York restaurants are getting all the attention.

"Saving restaurants is important, but it's less important than
the other needs," Robert Sietsema, food critic at the Village Voice, told the Los Angeles Times.
"Although it's nice to see people coming together, let's be
honest — New Yorkers don't need to be talked into going out to
eat more often."

No one is arguing that Manhattan fared better than its
geographical neighbors in the wake of the hurricane. But 300,000 people are employed in restaurants around
the NYC area, and owners have lost millions in investments
and their sole source of income. Shouldn't we be helping all of
those in need as much as we possibly can?